KEW Episode 47: Changing Behaviors Changes Beliefs

Beliefs are things we see as truisms in our lives and regulate the decisions we make. In Episode 9 I talked about Old Beliefs. These are beliefs we learned as kids that protected us in some way, but no longer serve their purpose in our adult lives. The problem is, the old beliefs have been habituated and we continue to implement them.

Many of us become aware of our old or limiting beliefs in adulthood. Things like anxiety, imposter syndrome, feeling not good enough, addictions, relationships - all these things are, at least in part, learned when we were kids.

But I've talked at length about beliefs and how they hold us back. This episode is about how we change those old beliefs.

Changing beliefs has been very difficult for me. But that makes sense if you think about it. Limiting beliefs are usually old (hence the terminology), which means they've been with us for awhile. And during that time, these beliefs have been reinforced any time a situation comes up requiring you to make a decision. We refer back to a similar situation, remember whatever belief worked then, and simply apply it again. And again. And again. Pretty soon this process is automatic and habituated (See Episode 26: Habits). So these beliefs were acquired over time with much repetition.

So, of course changing them is hard. It's logical to think that whatever time and energy went into building the belief would be required to change it. And as frustrating as that is, it may be accurate.

I tried to change my old beliefs for a decade, but I didn't get satisfactory results. I learned about beliefs. I learned what my limiting beliefs are. I even learned where some of them came from. But I thought that the awareness of the beliefs would somehow be enough to change them. But it's not.

I understood beliefs INTELLECTUALLY, but I wasn't DOING anything about them. I needed to ACT. And those actions are multifaceted. 

My research, therapy, coaching, and learning has led me to a list of actions that anyone can implement to change their thinking. The list is going to look very familiar and maybe even make you roll your eyes. It turns out the changing beliefs is really simple - it just isn't easy.

Behaviors that can help you change beliefs:

Meditation

Mindfulness

Journalling

Speaking daily affirmations

Exercise

Gratitude

You can even add sleeping and eating well to this list, but those aren't habits or actions I personally struggle with.

The point is, I have finally starting to believe (haha) that the above list, frequently touted by self-help and personal growth folks from all schools of thought, might actually produce the results I am looking for. So I'm on a mission to add them to my life slowly but deliberately and see if it works.

I go in to more detail about how and why in this Episode.

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